2026: February

After the reset of January, February invites closeness. Not loud celebrations or grand gestures, but warmth, care, and presence. It’s about choosing a few people you truly love and creating a space that feels safe, intimate, and joyful.

Moodboard February 2026

We’re still very much in winter. The days are short, it’s cold, and even though we’re starting to look ahead to warmer months, we’re not there yet.

For now, it’s about warming up from the inside.

While January was about making space, February is about filling that space consciously. With good food, quiet evenings, and time with the people who matter most. Slowing down and focusing on what really counts: love.

That’s why an intimate dinner at home feels just right. Personal, relaxed, and real. Not lost in a Valentine’s Day as it’s often marketed to us — full of pressure and performative romance. The focus isn’t on a perfect menu or the perfect gift, but on the experience as a whole: sharing time, enjoying good food, and being present. An evening less about impressing, and more about connection.

Mood & Atmosphere

The color palette leans into warmth and depth: blush and rose tones, plum and berry, softened neutrals, hints of chocolate brown and creamy whites. These colors echo the feeling of February itself — tender, romantic, but grounded.

Ranunculus are taking the center stage. With their layered, imperfect beauty they feel emotional and alive. Their shifting shades carry elegant richness and, to me, far more character than roses ever could.

The energy is warm and close. Candellight replaces bright overhead lighting. The candels don’t need to match, but perhaps they already carry memories from previouse evenings shared aroud the table.

The dress code is cozy, home-style elegance. Pyjama-level comfort but elevated for the occasion: a soft cashmere sweater, lacy silk trousers, and jewelry you wouldn’t normally wear at home, pieces that feel comfortable, personal, and refined.

The Dinner

This is a small dinner. Two people. The kind of evening where you cook together, open a bottle while chopping vegetables, and taste as you go. Nothing complicated, but everything made with attention.

Our menu would look something like the following:

Roasted chicory with honey, butter, feta, roasted walnuts & blood orange jam
Leek risotto with parmesan and scallops
Fendant au chocolat

This — like all my menus — is very seasonal, but never boring.

The dinner opens with roasted chicory: creamy, bitter-sweet, and layered. Honey and feta melt together into a caramelized softness, while the nuts add warmth and crunch. A spoon of blood orange jam cuts through it all at the end — fresh, bright, and unexpected.

Risotto is pure comfort. It’s the feeling of being nourished. It takes time to make, but that time is part of the pleasure: standing at the stove, stirring slowly, sipping champagne, sharing intimate words with someone you love. When it’s served, it’s still breathing a little steam — soft, warming, rich without feeling heavy.

The scallops — especially their shells — always remind me of the painting by Sandro Botticelli The Birth of Venus. The symbolism feels perfectly at home here. Venus represents ideal love and beauty entering the world pure and untouched, an embodiment of harmony. The shell stands for birth, femininity, and protection. Love and beauty are born quiet and vulnerable, and yet they have the power to set the world in motion.
Funny how all of this can be contained in a simple risotto.

The fondant au chocolat is my fiancé’s signature dish. It’s his favourite dessert, and he set his mind on perfecting it — and now it truly is. Best served warm straight from the oven, with simple vanilla ice cream and a glass of red wine. Rich, nostalgic, and deeply satisfying.
He allowed me, to share the recipe with you here.

Recipe: Fondant au Chocolat

Ingredients

150g butter (Kerrygold)
150g white sugar
50g flour
200g chocolate 78% cacao (Lindt)
3 eggs
roughly 50-60g of chocolate 80% cacao

Step 1: Preheat the oven at 180°C on fan oven.

Step 2: Gently melt the butter and chocolate (200g 78% chocolate) together without burning it, then let it cool slightly.

Step 3: In a bowl, mix the eggs and sugar well. A simple electric hand held mixer works perfectly for that.

Step 4: Add the melted butter-chocolate mixture to the egg-sugar mixture and blend until smooth, using the same mixer.

Step 5: Fold in the flour until the batter is creamy and homogeneous.

Step 6: Pour the mixture into prepared baking dish.

Step 7: Break the leftover 80% chocolate by hand into small pieces and press them evenly into the batter.

Step 8: Bake in preheated oven at 180°C for 15-20 minutes, depending on your oven and how molten you like the center.

Step 9: Serve warm, straight from the oven - on it’s own or with vanilla ice cream.